The Pentagon was inundated with so many studies in 2010 that it commissioned a study to determine how much it cost to produce all those studies.

Now the Government Accountability Office has reviewed the Pentagon’s study and concluded in a report this week that it’s a flop.

The study of a study of studies began in 2010 when Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that his department was “awash in taskings for reports and studies.” He wanted to know how much they cost.

Two years later, the Pentagon review is still continuing, which prompted Congress to ask the GAO to look over the Pentagon’s shoulder. What they found lacked military precision.

The study, which studies the cost of studies that review the effectiveness of other studies, is entitled Actions Needed to Evaluate the Impact of Efforts to Estimate Costs of Reports and Studies and can be viewed here.

After the study about the study of studies is finalized, the study is to be delivered to the Armed Services Committee, who are in the study… studying.